Don Lucia (born August 20, 1958) is an American former
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
head coach
A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
, who was named as inaugural commissioner of the second
Central Collegiate Hockey Association
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference in the Midwestern United States that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previ ...
(CCHA) on June 17, 2020. The CCHA, which began play in the
2021–22 season, is a revival of an
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
men's hockey conference whose original version operated from 1971 to 2013 before folding in the wake of
massive conference realignment in the sport.
Coaching career
Lucia is best known for his 19-season tenure as head coach of the
Minnesota Golden Gophers men's hockey
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. They are members of the Big Ten Conference and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...
team (1999–2018).
He twice led the Golden Gophers to the
NCAA national championship title, in 2002 and 2003. Under Lucia, the Golden Gophers won four
MacNaughton Cup
The MacNaughton Cup is a trophy awarded annually to the regular season conference champion of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). The trophy is named after James MacNaughton of Calumet, Michigan, who was a supporter of amateur ice h ...
s (awarded to the
WCHA
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's-only conference.
From 1951 to 1999, it operated as a men ...
's regular season champion), the
Broadmoor Trophy
The Broadmoor Trophy is a trophy that was awarded to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) playoff champion from 1985 until its discontinuation in 2018. The trophy itself dates to 1981, when it was awarded to the WCHA regular season c ...
three times (awarded to the WCHA playoff champion),
[ and the Big Ten regular season championship in each of that league's first four seasons. He coached one ]Hobey Baker Award
The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 44 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...
winner, Jordan Leopold
Jordan Douglas Leopold (born August 3, 1980) is an Americans, American former professional ice hockey defenceman, defenseman. He was drafted in the second round, 44th overall, by the Anaheim Ducks, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1999 NHL Entry Draft, ...
. He is one of 10 coaches to record more than 600 NCAA men's ice hockey wins, and one of four to win national titles in consecutive years.[Borzi, Pat. "Once-Embattled Coach Has Gophers Golden Again." ''New York Times'' 8 Feb. 2013: B11(L). ''Academic OneFile''. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.] Lucia graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1981, where he played defense for the school's hockey team.sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis (; also known as Besnier–Boeck–Schaumann disease) is a disease involving abnormal collections of White blood cell, inflammatory cells that form lumps known as granulomata. The disease usually begins in the lungs, skin, or lymph n ...
, but only missed four games while battling the autoimmune disease. This illness, combined with a growing number of college hockey players taking their talents to the NHL, led Lucia's Gophers to a 17–18–2 record during the 2009–2010 season. That season was Lucia's only year with a losing record with the Gophers, and his first since coaching Alaska-Fairbanks in the 1991–1992 season.Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...
's ice hockey division. The Gophers won the inaugural regular season title and advanced all the way to the National Championship game where they fell to Union. Lucia won the first 4 Big Ten titles, but could only garner 1 conference tournament championship (2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
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Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
) and despite the success in the Big Ten, Minnesota was not considered a contender for the NCAA title most years.
Minnesota finished 5th in 2018 and with many of the fans unhappy with the direction of the program, Lucia resigned after 19 years behind the bench.
Personal life
Lucia and his wife Joyce have four children.
Both his sons were drafted in the NHL Entry Draft. Tony was selected in the 6th round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft
The 2005 NHL entry draft was the 43rd entry draft for the National Hockey League. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, it was postponed to July 30 due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout.
Special procedures were required to determine the order ...
by the San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
and Mario was selected in the 2nd round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
The 2011 NHL entry draft was the 49th entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the ...
by the Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...
.
Head coaching record
See also
* List of college men's ice hockey coaches with 400 wins
References
External links
Minnesota bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucia, Don
1958 births
American men's ice hockey defensemen
Central Collegiate Hockey Association commissioners
Ice hockey players from Minnesota
Ice hockey coaches from Minnesota
Living people
Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey coaches
Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey players
Sportspeople from Grand Rapids, Minnesota
Philadelphia Flyers draft picks
Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey coaches
Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey coaches
20th-century American sportsmen